Is this an innovative solution to climate change or a misguided money-making scheme?

“We want to get the biggest, best genetic representations of the species,” said David Milarch, the co-founder of Archangel, told the New York Times. “And make millions and millions and millions of them.”

Ostensibly the goal is to use giant trees to absorb carbon dioxide, but the idea isn’t especially well grounded in science.

Redwoods are good carbon absorbers because they grow fast and tall and last for centuries. Cloning young trees is relatively easy — nowhere near as sophisticated a project as cloning animals — but cloning older trees is Milarch’s own idea.

Milarch says the older trees have demonstrably good DNA, making them good candidates for mass production. But the U.S. Forest Service said that wasn’t true. Their longevity could be luck of the draw, relying on good soil or abundant water more than genetics.

And, cautions Sean C. Lahmeyer, a plant conservation specialist at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, “You don’t get genetic diversity with clones. You always want the variation that’s present in a natural population going on through sexual reproduction.”

And then there’s the issue of whether redwoods, however beautiful, are the best choice for reforesting the country. The trees have a very specialized habitat and, even if they’d grow in Michigan or Alabama, you can’t exactly plant one in your backyard — “unless you have a really big backyard,” said Scott Steen, the chief executive of American Forests, the nation’s oldest conservation group. “And you can’t really line a city street with them.”

Milarch defends the project, which plans to clone a number of different types of trees. But he admits, “we are not climate change scientists.”

In fact, the religiously named Archangel’s overly precious website makes it look a little like a cult. “It’s not time for preservation, it’s time for restoration,” says one glassy-eyed man in the “about us” video. An even more spaced-out women explains, “This is where Archangel comes in — it comes in as a giant healing structure across the planet.”